Tuesday, May 22, 2012

China afraid of American intervention – Taiwanese

TAIPEI: The People’s Republic of China (PROC) would not
attempt to launch any move to worsen its territorial dispute with the
Philippines over the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal because it fears a
possible intervention from the United States (US).

According to Arthur Ding, acting director of the Institute of
International Relations at Taiwan’s National Chengchi University, China
wouldn’t want the shoal tensions to escalate because it is still in the
process of improving its relationships with the member-countries of the
Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean).

He said that in
case China makes a drastic move to confront other claimants of the
disputed area, it will jeopardize its relations with Asean countries and
will be an opportunity for the US to further get into the picture and
establish its presence in the region.

He likewise said that China
has been very careful with its actions on how to deal with the
territorial dispute since it “can foresee the consequence if take
actions.”

Because of this, Ding expressed optimism that the
dispute in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) will not worsen and
be solved peacefully.

“China does not want to alienate and
jeopardize relations with neighboring countries and for the US to have
an excuse to get more involved in this region,” he told a group of
foreign journalists.

That is why, Ding said, the Taiwanese
government has always been seeking for a peaceful and diplomatic
solution to the territorial conflict in the South China Sea.

“There’s
no doubt [that] there’s so many tension, probably some kind of
frictions in South China Sea, which is claimed by different countries,
Taiwan included. I don’t see the likelihood for the tension to escalate
into a kind of major conflict, but it will be settled peacefully,” he
added.

Apart from the Philippines and China, Taiwan had also been
claiming sovereignty over the Panatag Shoal, which the Chinese call
Huangyan Island.

Newly-inaugurated Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou
on Sunday reaffirmed his government’s position that the disputed shoal
is part of their territory.

To arrest the tensions, Ma had suggested a joint exploration of resources in the disputed area.

Tensions
in the South China Sea or West Philippine Sea started when Chinese
vessels prevented a Philippine navy ship from arresting Chinese
fishermen who were found exploiting marine sources in the area.